And yes, even Hawaii is getting in on the white Christmas craze: The highest peaks of the two volcanoes on the Big Island — Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea — will see up to 2 feet of snow this week, some of which could stick around for Christmas.

The National Weather Service defines a white Christmas as having 1 inch of snow on the ground on the morning of Dec. 25. It need not snow on Christmas Day.

But Delaware's out of luck there, too, Meola said.

"It looks like there's going to be rain heading into the weekend," she said. “And it will be warm, it will be very warm this weekend, probably in the upper 50s, and maybe even closer to the mid-60s throughout the state.”

Travel with care

Meola said it will get colder, and rain again, Sunday night, making roads slick and icy.

“Sunday night's going to be a little more hazardous, travel-wise," she said.

But it's those traveling out-of-state and heading north that should really worry about poor driving conditions.

A record 107.3 million people will travel to celebrate year-end holidays, braving higher gas prices than last year and roads in some spots threatening three times the normal traffic congestion, according to a AAA forecast.

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Though Delaware is not forecasted to get snow this weekend, New England is.(Photo: GARY EMEIGH/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS JOURNAL)

While snow won't hit Delaware, it is expected to blanket Vermont, New Hampshire, much of Maine and areas north of the Massachusetts Turnpike this weekend. It will spread over the entire I-95 corridor down to western Connecticut, accumulating up to 2 inches in some areas.

Freezing rain is set to follow, moving into Saturday and covering roads in ice.

Though things are expected to warm up, leaving I-95 passable Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, the arrival of a second winter storm late Sunday will snarl traffic once again. Parts of New England could get up to 6 inches snow, and flights in and out of the area could be affected.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York are forecast to get snow Christmas Eve, with New York City, Boston and Portland getting snow on Christmas Day, according to AccuWeather.

AAA recommends delaying trips if traveling into bad weather. If you must leave, let others know your route, destination and estimated time of arrival.

If you do choose to depart Delaware this weekend in pursuit of a white Christmas, here are some tips from AAA for driving in the snow:

Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Applying the gas slowly to accelerate is the best method for regaining traction and avoiding skids. Don’t try to get moving in a hurry. And take time to slow down for a stoplight. Remember: It takes longer to slow down on icy roads.

Know your brakes. Whether you have antilock brakes or not, the best way to stop is threshold breaking. Keep the heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.

Don’t stop if you can avoid it. There’s a big difference in the amount of inertia it takes to start moving from a full stop versus how much it takes to get moving while still rolling. If you can slow down enough to keep rolling until a traffic light changes, do it.

Don’t power up hills. Applying extra gas on snow-covered roads just starts your wheels spinning. Try to get a little inertia going before you reach the hill and let that inertia carry you to the top. As you reach the crest of the hill, reduce your speed and proceed downhill as slowly as possible.

Stay home. If you really don’t have to go out, don’t. Even if you can drive well in the snow, not everyone else can.

Keep dreaming of that White Christmas

The USA's fascination with a white Christmas dates back to 1942, when Bing Crosby first crooned the wistful song in the film Holiday Inn.

Written by Irving Berlin, the song's lyrics bring out a romanticized image of Christmases past, "just like the ones I used to know." A second movie — White Christmas, also with Crosby — came out in 1954.

Despite Crosby's wishes, only 25 percent to 30 percent of the 48 contiguous states are typically snow-covered by Christmas, according to AccuWeather.

As of Tuesday, snow covered about 26 percent of the lower 48 states, NOAA said.

Looking for a surefire way to get a white Christmas? Head to Fairbanks, Alaska, which has seen snow on the ground every Christmas since weather record keeping began, according to data from the National Centers for Environmental Information.

Historically, much of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, most of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and a large portion of the Western mountain areas have a 90 percent or better chance of a white Christmas.

Based on historical averages, some of the biggest cities with the best probability for a white Christmas, according to AccuWeather, include Minneapolis; Green Bay, Wisconsin, Buffalo; and Burlington, Vermont.